Improvement in paper-bag machines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER EDWARD ARMSTRONG, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

.IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-BAG MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 112,005, dated February2l, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER EDWARD ARM- STRONG, ot' Philadelphia, countyof Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an ImprovedPaper-Bag Machine, of which the following is a specification Myinvention consists of certain mechanism for making paper bags, theconstruction and operation ot' the said mechanism being too fullydescribed hereafter to need a preliminary explanation here.

The object ot my invention has been to produce a simple, cheap, andcompact machine for converting tubes of paper into bags, the machinebeing especially adapted for use by grocers and others who desire tomake paper bags for their own consumption.

Figure l, Sheet 1, is a side elevation of my improved paper-bag machine5 Fig. 2, avertical section of' the same 5 Fig. 3,"Sheet 2, a plan view;Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section on the line l 2, Fig. 3; Fig. 5, atransverse section on the line 3 4, Fig. 3; and Figs. 6, 7, and 8,detached and enlarged views, illustrating portions ot' my invention.

A and A represent the opposite side frames of the machine, securedtogether by crosspieces c; and B is a platform or table, secured at oneend to the frames, and supported by diagonal rods or brackets a. Thedrivingshaft C has its bearings in the vertically-slotted standards band b ofthe opposite side frames, and is provided between the latterwith a roller, D. The driving-shaft has also,

at one end, a crank, c, if it is to be operated y by hand, or asuitable'pulley if it is to be driven by power. A roller, D, having twoor more projections or collars, e, Which bear upon the roller D, has itsbearings in the standards b and b', and is arranged to yield verticallyto a slight extent in the said standards, such movement being permittedby gum blocks d d, or other suitable springs, regulated by setscrews,which bear upon the journals ot' the said roller.

The object in cutting away the roller D', so as to form the collars e,is to permit the introduction between the same and the rollerD ot' aplate, F, which has slots f for the admission of the said collars. Theplate F rests upon the table or platform B, is prevented from movinglaterally by grooved rollersh lo and strips it on the said table, and isprevented from moving forward in the direction ot' the arrow, Fig. 2, toa point beyond a fixed cross-bar, G, on the frame of the machine, by

means of wheels jj, hung to the upper snr-A t'ace ot' the said plate,and having rounded edges adapted to the grooves in the wheels h h of thetable. The knife or cutter H, by which the tube of paper from which thebags are to be made is severed, in the manner described hereafter,consists ot' a blade hung to, and arranged to freely oscillate in, theopposite side frames of the machine, and has, in the present instance, aserrated cutting-edge, which, when the cutter is raised, can be broughtin contact with the cross-bar Gr. The cutter is prevented from fallingto a point lower than is shown in Fig. 2 by a projection, k, coming incontact with any stationary part ot' the machine, and the said cutter isoperated by means of a revolving arm, Z, which strikes this projectionk, and which is hungto a spindle, I, arranged to turn in brackets m m onthe side frame A, the said spindle deriving its motion from thedriving-shaft through the medium of the bevel-gears n.

The folding` of' the tube of paper to form the bottoms ot the bags iseffected by means ot' a vertically-reciprocating blade, p, andstationary folding-plates q q, secured to the frame of the machine, andarranged at a short distance apart from each other, as best observed inFig. 8. Beneath these folding-plates there are two drawing-rollers, J J,which are clothed with gum-elastic, or other suitable l material, andwhich are driven by means ot' the cog-wheels rr, r1, andr2 from thedrivingshaft C, as shown in Fig. l. One end of the reciprocating blade pslides in a grooved standard,pl, on the side frame A, and its oppositeend is secured to a bar, 292, which slides in` guides p3 on the sideframe A. rlhe bar p2 has a slotted arm, s, in which slides the pin s1 ofa crank-wheel, s2, at one end ot' the spindle I, l

the desired vertical reciprocating motion being thus imparted to theblade l). A paste-reservoir, M, in which is a sliding` gate, t, toregulate thesupply ot' paste to the blade p, is secured to the frameofthe machine at the rear ofthe said blade. The paste is fed to thelatter when at thelimit of its upward movement by means of a plate, u,which is hinged to a swinging frame, u1, hung to the opposite sides ofthe reservoir, and having an arm', u2, which over-hangs the blade p, sothat 1t may be raised with the latter. The plate u has a pin,

x, which is brought in contact with a bent arm, x, on the reservoir whenthe frame u1 is raised, so that the said plate may be thrown outwardagainst the blade p, in order to deposit upon the latter the supply ofpast which it has raised from the reservoir. t

Operation: The machine can be driven by power; but it is more especiallyintended as a hand machine, to be used by grocers and others who desireto make paper bags for their own consumption.

The bags are not made from a hat strip or sheet of paper, but from papermanufactured in the-form of a tube without any joint, the machine beingconsequently much less complicated than those heretofore used, whichfirst form the tube from a fiat strip ot' paper before proceeding to theformation of the bags. rlhe flattened tube of paper is wound upon aroller hung to the under side of thev machine-to' the crossbar g/ inFig. 2, for instance-and the tube is passed upward around a roller, z,in the plate B, and is then passed over the plate F, the latter beingcontainedentirely within the tube when the machine is in operation, asshown in Fig. 7. The tube of paper is'permitted to pass freely betweenthe grooved edges of the wheels h, and the rounded edges of the wheelsj; but the said wheels eff'ectu'aly prevent 'any forward movement of theplate F. The tube is fed forward to the folding and pasting devicesY andcutter H by means of the drawing-rollers D and D', the collarse c of thelatter acting upon the paper, but, owing toY the slots f, being freefrom contact with the plate F;

' The operation of the folding and pasting devices is as follows: Whilethe end of the tube 1s being fed toward the folding-plates q q, thevblade p' is raised, as shown in Fig. 2, and

supplied with paste by the plate u, and when l the end of the paper tubehas been brought to the position shown in Fig. 6, the blade p descendsand'forces the end of the tube` between the folding-plates q q, thusfolding, and at the same time pasting, the same to form the bottom orclosed end of the bag. The bag thus folded and pasted is drawn downwardby means of the rollers J ,Land while securely held by the same, asshown in Fig. 7, is severed `from thel tube by the cutter H, the

iremos f action of the latterbeing as follows:- The plate F, which iscontained'within the tube, extendsto a point beneath the edge ofthecross-bar Gr, which the cutter strikes in its upper movement.A The saidplate thus serves to separate the two sides of the tube, there being aspace between them corresponding in vwidth to the thickness ofthe plate.The cutter crosscs'this space in severing the bag from the tube, asshown in' Fig. 7, so that, in consequence of the angle at which thecut-ter operates, one edge or side will project beyond the other, andthe severed end of the tube will also be cut in a corresponding manner,so that in forming the bottom of the next bag the paste may reach bothedges of the same, .and thus form a tight joint when the folding iscompleted.

rlhe cutter H, immediately after severing the tube, drops to its formerposition, Fig. 2, Aor may be furnished with a spring to accelerate suchmovement, in order that there may be no interruption to the furtherfeeding of the tube andjformation vof the next bag.

A main peculiarity of my invention, and a point in which it differs mostessentially from other machines of its class, is that the bottom orclosed end of the bag is entirely completedv and rmly held before thesaid bag is severed from the tube. This insures a clean cut, the tubebeing held atpboth ends, so that there can be no danger of slipping.

vMy machine possesses several other advantages and peculiarities, amongwhich may be mentionedits coinpactness and simplicity, these 4featuresrendering it of especial utility as a hand machine.n

l. The combination of the reciprocating knit'e H and the rotating arm Z,operating as Yset forth.

2. A reciprocating or vibratingblade, p, in combination with a plate, u,by which paste is transferred from a reservoir to the said blade,substantially in the .manner described. 3. The combination of thegrooved rollers h h, wheels/j j, and plateF. In testimony whereoflhavesigned my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

A PETER EDWARD ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses: WM. A. STEEL, .Louis BoswELL.

